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Over Coffee With Benjie Shaw

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Evangelical

2023-10-11T09:31:35-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Responding to Pain and Suffering Well: A Lesson from Job and His Friends

Last updated on: October 11, 2023 at 9:31 am By Benjie Shaw

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“Wait, what happened?” my eyes widened as the pastor shared details of the tragic death of a young man in our church. It was senseless, completely preventable, and tragic. His mom had been in the small group I was leading, so I felt like I should do something. But what could I, a 25 year-old seminary student with no kids, possibly say or do to comfort his grieving parents in the middle of an unspeakable tragedy? “Just show up,” an... Read more

General Christian

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Relationships and Religion

2023-09-25T08:22:14-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Joy: A Call to Christians to Pursue Joy

Last updated on: September 25, 2023 at 8:22 am By Benjie Shaw

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Joyful people used to make me very skeptical. Toxic positivity had been common in the ministry spaces I occupied as a teenager and college students. I had equated joy with never permitting sadness or negativity, never acknowledging pain or struggle, and projecting a friendly face with a venomous bite. My heart was initially softened to joy by watching two joyful people (whom I had initially dismissed as “obviously fake”) walk through a series of difficult circumstances, name them as trying,... Read more

General Christian

2023-08-30T18:29:21-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why You Should Observe a Sabbath

Last updated on: August 30, 2023 at 6:29 pm By Benjie Shaw

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What do you think of when you hear the word “Sabbath?” If you’re like most people, your first thought is likely negative: Not required Impractical Not enough time Outside of regular Bible reading/study and prayer, you should observe a Sabbath because it is the most transformational discipline you can undertake. The problem Sabbaths sound great. But we’re just too busy to take a whole day off… right? An Atlantic article titled “The Myth that Americans Are Busier Than Ever” statistically... Read more

General Christian

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Family, Parenting and Religion

Discipleship

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sabbath

spiritual disciplines

2023-08-18T09:37:17-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why I’m Glad Christians Disagree on so Much: A Reflection on Theological Superiority

Last updated on: August 18, 2023 at 9:37 am By Benjie Shaw

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My wife and I were sitting in a local coffee shop this week getting some work done. I noticed a particularly boisterous man talking to what appeared to be a friend at a nearby table. I couldn’t hear everything, but I regularly heard him drop words like “evangelism” and “ministry.” Working in an evangelistic ministry, my curiosity was piqued. Soon, he noticed my hat. My hat had my alma mater’s logo on it. His son is playing football there this... Read more

General Christian

Careers, Workplace and Religion

Relationships and Religion

2023-07-30T17:15:30-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Word for the Overwhelmed, Tired, Weary, and Burdened: Jesus Cares More About You than What You do for Him

Last updated on: July 30, 2023 at 5:15 pm By Benjie Shaw

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The more John(*not his real name) shared the more I felt for him. Setting up a time to meet for lunch had been difficult. This one appointment had only happened after three previous requests had gone unanswered. Now, as he shared more about what his life had been like in the two months since we last spoke, I felt a swell of empathy for him. Sheepishly, he had just said, “So… I’m not sure what my involvement is going to... Read more

General Christian

Careers, Workplace and Religion

Relationships and Religion

church hurt

Discipleship

Leadership

Spiritual Disciplines

2023-07-20T13:33:03-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How do I Know if I’m Growing in my Faith? Use the Fruit of the Spirit as a Metric

Last updated on: July 20, 2023 at 1:33 pm By Benjie Shaw

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I work with college students in a campus ministry context. Several years back, I was curious about how my students defined spiritual growth. I set up a bunch of 1-on-1’s with student leaders to ask them two questions: 1)How do you define spiritual growth? 2)How do you know if you’re growing in your faith? What emerged were a lot of pregnant pauses as students considered, it seemed for the first time, to define this nebulous goal of spiritual growth that... Read more

General Christian

Discipleship

Fruit of the Spirit

Spiritual Disciplines

2023-07-13T16:28:29-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why I’m Still a Christian In Spite of Church Hurt

Last updated on: July 13, 2023 at 4:28 pm By Benjie Shaw

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I’ve been a Christian for 25 years. In total, I’ve had positive church experiences for about 7 of those. Like many, my experience has also included several instances of experiencing hurt from pastors, churches, and ministry leaders. Unfortunately, my story isn’t unique. Over the last few years stories of church hurt have filled the internet. It’s likely that if you’ve been involved in churches or ministry settings for long, you’ve been disappointed, maybe even downright hurt by a spiritual leader.... Read more

General Christian

Family, Parenting and Religion

Religion News

2023-07-01T11:03:39-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How do I Know God’s Will for Me?

Last updated on: July 1, 2023 at 11:03 am By Benjie Shaw

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Decisions used to paralyze me. I would take forever to evaluate all the options before me. Even then, I would spend months going back over the decision. “What if I made the wrong choice?” was a constant fear. Evangelical Christians seem to be especially prone to the fear of making a wrong decision. We occupy spaces that talk a lot about remaining in God’s will, following God’s will, and the consequences of what happens if we don’t. Sometimes the choice... Read more

General Christian

Relationships and Religion

Family, Parenting and Religion

2023-06-21T07:51:47-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When I Don’t Feel God’s Love

Last updated on: June 21, 2023 at 7:51 am By Benjie Shaw

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I came to faith in Jesus as a 14-year-old in a tradition that emphasized truth over feelings. “Feelings lie. Truth, as revealed in Scripture, is the only reliable, constant guide” was the refrain I heard repeatedly. If I felt it and it was objectively spoken against in Scripture then my feelings were wrong. Feeling God’s love was one of the main subjects of this point’s application. Since our feelings wax and wane based on a myriad of factors, we should... Read more

General Christian

Family, Parenting and Religion

Relationships and Religion

2023-06-11T19:45:08-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Leaving the 99: Re-thinking our Approach to Those Who Leave the Church

Last updated on: June 11, 2023 at 7:45 pm By Benjie Shaw

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Deconstruction, spiritual abuse, spiritual trauma, and exvangelical are all terms that have entered into our vocabulary in the last few years. It seems that since 2020 the rate at which the stories of people who have walked away from faith have come more rapidly. In fact, rapid departure was already common prior to 2020. A 2021 Pew Research Study found 29% of Americans considered themselves to have no religious affiliation, up from 16% in 2007. At the same time, the... Read more

General Christian

Family, Parenting and Religion

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